Capital punishment

Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a government-sanctioned practice whereby a person is killed by the state as punishment for a crime. Although it has been in practice in most societies since the dawn of civilization, it has since been heavily debated.

Hinduism and Buddhism
In Hinduism and Buddhism, the concept of ahimsa (noninjury) posits that no harm should be done others. Buddhism believes that any action, even if it brings good to the doer, cannot be good if it inflicts physical harm against others. However, Buddhism also believes in defense of the family, justifying pro-capital punishment beliefs. The two faiths also believe that killing someone will cause bad karma.

Judaism
In the Hebrew Bible, there are reasons given to justify capital punishment in the "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" proportionate punishment system. There was scripture given after Noah's flood which said, "Whoever sheds the blood of man by man, shall his blood be shed," which makes the case for capital punishment. However, there are also scriptures that allow for mercy, including Ezekiel's statement that his pleasure would not be in the death of the wicked, but in the wicked's pursuit of a more righteous life. Within Reform Judaism, many are opposed to the death penalty, as many people are often given the death penalty more than others. In Israel, the death penalty was eliminated in all cases except for treason and genocide, and the death penalty was applied to Nazi Adolf Eichmann in 1962.

Christianity
In Christianity, Jesus taught his followers to turn the other cheek and to love their neighbors as themselves. In John 8:7, Jesus told his followers, who were about to stone an adulterer, "Those who are without sin, cast the first stone." However, there are other teachings in support of capital punishment; in Romans 13, Saint Paul said that God ordained government, the authority, and the government's ability to keep order. Supporters of capital punishment believes that, if the government sees capital punishment as necessary, than it is supported. There is an argument that many people use the King James Version translation of the Sixth Commandment, which is "Thou shalt not kill", to prove the rest of the Bible "wrong"; in reality, the translation should be "Thou shalt not murder", as this was the original Hebrew meaning of the word.

Islam
In Islam, capital punishment is another controversial subject. In the Quran and in the Sunnah, corporal and capital punishment are sanctioned, but there are conditions to implement the texts. However, many scholars did not read the texts, leading to a misunderstanding and a lack of critical thinking. Some scholars believe that dignity and justice come before capital punishment, and some argue that capital punishment should be suspended until scholars could have a critical discussion concerning the death penalty. Many anti-death penalty Muslims believe that the death penalty disproportionally affects the poor and women, but pro-death penalty Muslims believe that their texts authorize its use.